Isola delle Femmine

 island, nature conservation park / area

Isola delle Femmine is a wild uninhabited oval-shaped pristine atoll near Palermo, with a 17th century crumbling stone tower, that is part of a protected marine park now an elite scuba diving and snorkeling spot. Isola delle Femmine lies just 300 meters from a mainland village which is named after it. There is a rich eco-system of birds and over 120 plant species, a typical Mediterranean landscape.

Ancient Roman anchors and relics lie on the surrounding seabed. Its reef waters are inhabited by lobsters, sea anemones and madrepora stony coral. There are ancient Greek and Roman stone and lime mortar basins once used to prepare a gourmet fermented fish sauce dubbed garum, alongside old wells and basins to collect rainwater.

The ancient stone tower rises on a tall grassy hill that was part of a defensive network of look-out fortresses built to protect Sicily's coasts from Saracen pirate raids that provides a 360-degree view from the top stretching to the island of Ustica.

Legend has it that 13 Turkish maidens cast adrift by their families as punishment for misdemeanors took refuge on the island after their boat was hit by a storm. They lived there happily ever after.